Ultra-Rare 1955 Luminor Panerai Prototype
Up For Auction at Sotheby's
Reference 6152/1: Case Number 12948
Sotheby's Auction house is offering an ultra-rare Prototype Luminor Panerai which includes a special prototype diving bezel, which is removable. What exactly is this unusual prototype watch about? and what is the deal with the bezel? This watch basically marked the end of the line for Panerai's research & development of the watches in the mid 1950s.
Essentially Panerai watches were obsoleted by the Rolex Submariner and Tudor Submariner models. In other words, when the Royal Italian Navy divers became aware of the Rolex Submariner models, they grew to prefer them, and though the Panerai watches were archaic. Today these vintage Panerai watches are each worth a small fortune since they have stood the truest test of time, which is based upon the timeless nature of the designs.
It is ironic that many of the vintage Panerai, Rolex and Patek Philippe watches that are worth a fortune today, were not popular when they were originally sold, but from having studied the auction market results for many years, I have noticed their is a strong correlation between a watches value and how timeless its design is. The ultimate measure of how timeless a watches design is, would be based upon how it would look on your wrist today. With the 47MM Panerai models, like the one pictured above, the design is soooo today. In other words, if you wore it today, it would look so contemporary and modern, yet is was made in 1955–now that's timeless design, and auction results consistently typically reward this.
Supreme Irony
So basically the Luminor Panerai's which featured the half-cresent tight-seal crown guard represented the tail end of Panerai's experimenting with Diving tool watches. When Rolex showed off the Submariner in 1953, is had an invaluable feature that the Panerai could not compete with, and that was a spinning bezel that could be used for timing dives, and in particular, making certain the diver would not run out of oxygen, since the Rolex Submariner bezel was only unidirectional, meaning it could only spin counter-clockwise, thus ensuring the diver could not reset it to give himself more time by mistake. The Rolex Submariner pictured below was made in 1953, and offered many features that functionally obscoleted all the Panerai models, including the unidirectional spinning bezel as well as the stainless steel bracelet.
